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HOW TO SATURDAY

Well, that weekend was exhausting. The Rolling Stones packed out Adelaide Oval for their once in a lifetime concert, Rymill Park was filled with people inducing their dairy based food comas at Cheesefest and Gotye led a stream of people on a march through the city in the name of equality.

I didn’t do any of the above.

Instead, I spent a total of 17 hours on Saturday with a bunch of girlfriends; treading the pavement, eating lots of food, drinking too much wine and showing off my favourite spots in the city.

This day of indulgence was both for pleasure and purpose and as a result of the return home of a friend who has spent the last few years living overseas and who wanted to see what she’d been missing in Adelaide of late.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

I made a map, packed the camera, depleted my bank account and we set off to visit the latest and greatest.

STOP 1: LARRY & LADD – Regent Arcade

Naturally, the day needed to start with coffee.

There are three things that happen every time I visit Larry & Ladd and this day was no different.

1. I drink a soy latte and eat a truffled mushroom toastie.

As many times as I’ve been there; I’m still yet to try the other options amongst the ‘Larry Snacks’. I just can’t go past the crunchy bread lathered in butter, filled with creamy mushrooms and spiked with an olive. If you’re in the mood for something sweet you’ll find the usual suspects from Abbots & Kinney upon the counter getting you in with their sugary stare.

2. I leave wanting to paint my apartment walls black.

The décor inside Larry & Ladd features a perfect balance of black walls and tables, wooden cabinetry and pops of green in their crockery, indoor plants and glass water bottles. Might also need to mention the sexiest coffee machine I’ve ever laid eyes on. Share a table inside surrounded by magazines to peruse and purchase, or pull up a stool at one of the tables extended into the middle of Regent Arcade.

3. I experience some of the best customer service I know of in Adelaide.

Jeremy and his team are genuine, cheeky and appreciate that you’re there. You can roll in, place your order and take a seat. They’ll bring out your order and you can fix it up when you’re done. Whether you are a first time customer or a repeat offender, the staff at Larry & Ladd are approachable, welcoming and create a relaxed environment regardless if you’re grabbing a quick take-away, riding solo or settling in with friends.

STOP 2: RUNDLE TRUNDLE

The Rundle Mall redevelopment seems like it’s been going on for an eternity, much to the dismay of its retailers. Finally it’s starting to get somewhere. The warmer weather is bringing more people out, the al fresco seating idea is starting to take off and my favourite thing of all is the The Flower Depo pop up florist displaying fresh blooms in brown paper.

STOP 3: LEIGH STREET GARAGE SALE TRAIL – Leigh Street

As an event put on by Splash Adelaide, the middle of Leigh Street was blocked off to host an inner city garage sale. The main highlight of this was the $10 sample sale by Australian Fashion Labels. Every hour on the hour the tables were re-stocked and ladies flocked from nowhere to snatch and grab whatever they could carry from their favourite labels Cameo, Keepsake, Finders Keepers, Jaggar and The Fifth. It was bonkers. If you weren’t keen to fight the crowd you could pop into Coffee Branch, (specially open on a Saturday) wander other stalls or grab some eats from Veggie Velo or the new Cheesy Street food truck.

STOP 4 & 5: KUTCHI DELI PARWANA/PICNIC IN THE PARK – Ebenezer Place

By now it was about 1pm so it was time to eat and head east to Ebenezer for lunch. Meal of choice was Kutchi Deli Parwana. The food at this place is incredible, and anyone who has visited their full size Afghan restaurant on Henley Beach road know what I’m talking about. It’s cheap and traditional but served up with a modern flair in a take away style.

Although there are tables outside, its generally pretty busy so we weren’t able to get seats for the size of our group. All good! Rundle Park was the back up plan and let’s be honest, it wasn’t a hideous day for an impromptu picnic.

STOP 6: EAST END CELLARS – Vardon Avenue

Right. Wine time. Being that we were in the east end, it was only appropriate to visit East End Cellars and The Tasting Room, the inner city wonderland of fine wine and beautiful booze. This place certainly isn’t your regular supermarket affiliated bottle-o. You could easily lose an hour in here wandering the aisles and sussing the shelves. The staff here are pro’s, so if you don’t know what to buy… ask.

Since it’s across-the-road relocation and expansion at the start of this year, it now includes The Tasting Room area which means you can graze a ploughman’s platter or work through a wine flight with cheese, and all while watching the world go by on Vardon avenue.

Lots of laughs with the ladies, and three bottles of white later we were ready to do the mildy tipsy walk home to prepare for stage 2 of our adventures for dinner and dancing.

STOP 7: TASTE CHINESE RESTAURANT – Wright Street

I’m always excited when a new restaurant opens up in Chinatown, and especially one that is about 30 metres from my house. I’ve been meaning to pop into Taste since it opened a couple of weeks ago and it didn’t disappoint. The service wasn’t stellar but the food was LEGIT. It has one of those menus where the explanations are so brief you don’t really have any idea what might come out, but that’s half the fun. In the tradition of T-Chow, BYO is welcome and corkage is cheap.

By the time we came home from dinner, mixed up a few gin and tonics and made a lounge room dance floor, the scheduled plan of attack for the rest of evening went somewhat awry. Stops 8 through 12 didn’t quite eventuate as planned by the list on my map, which wasn’t really a surprise after 12 hours of being out and about.

My city did me proud that day.

Adelaide, you brought the goods. I had so much fun spending the day with my best friends showing off the place which I have so much passion for, and aside of the Garage Sale Trail event, you could do all of the above on any regular Saturday. So do it! I dare ya’!